All iPads Combined - Apple is killing iPad. New Models are Underwhelming

[Leonard1818]

Why would a school or business want/need to spend money on an iPad Air?

For the same reasons they spend money on updated computers/textbooks etc.

Every piece of technology has a lifespan. After X amount of time the hardware starts to degrade, the manufacturer stops producing/updating software for it, etc.

Let's just assume for argument that the iPad has a relevant lifespan of 5 years. That is, the original iPad 1 (2010) will end it's lifespan in 2015 (I know, I know, most would say it's already done, but just stick with me)...

Why would a school or business buy technology that was introduced in 2011 (dead in 2016) when, for a tad bit more, they could buy the latest technology and not have to re-purchase until 2018?

This logic is even far shorter than the obvious, real-world situation that my wife is in. Her employer is going to buy her an iPad air (she works at a university). They TEACH technology and NEED the latest technology to be able to teach it. Plus, who's to say that some apps won't start taking advantage of that new processor sometime in the next 5 years? Wouldn't that be awesome to "cheap out" and buy the whole school iPad 2 models and then suddenly there's an app that takes full advantage of the new processor but wait -- "we don't have those..."

It's not ALWAYS necessary to have the latest and greatest but I'd venture a guess that in an educational setting and probably most business settings it would be best.

 

[HurryKayne]

It also depends on which kind of job you're doing.
For us as music therapist's the mini retina fits perfectly with
mobility needs and with the dynamic sessions we jump in.
At home i'd rather prefer the bigger one.
So this year i'll go retina mini and next year maybe with
an A7 quad core or an A8 dual-quad i'll stick with an Air 2,
this if only Apple won't decide to introduce an Hybrid MacBook Air
with Broadwell and A8 in the Ipad as detachable display
but for now i'm completely satisfied with the entire Keynote.
(ps.except for the MacBookPro-750m price..)

 

[Sodner]

The lightest full size tablet in the world. The only tablets with desktop class 64 Bit architecture. And its underwhelming?

A little disappointed in no touch ID on the Air but I'll be getting on in store Nov 1st. Yes the BIGGER one for $100 more.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

rubbish, gammon and spinach!

 

[Italianblend]

Yes, new ipad announcements are pretty tame as compared to a new iphone announcement. It's not as satisfying.

But if all of us here believe that Apple makes the best tablet on the market, then it should satisfy us for the time being.

The next advancement will be holograms being projected from your ipad. Still in the works. Steve Jobs had a file in his desk about that...

 

[Bokes]

No complaints here.
For those who still use the 2 or 3- the new Air-pad is a perfect upgrade in every way.
IMO- I see no reason to upgrade after this version until they start projecting holograms star wars chess style.

 

[PatriotInvasion]

Really surprised Apple wouldn't boost the iPad Air's specs to further differentiate it from the mini aside from the screen size.

My guess is that they had to soup up the Mini's specs to the A7 chip to support the Retina screen while maintaining battery life and graphics performance. Hence the $70 price increase.

Either way, no use for an iPad when I already have a 5s and 13" rMBP. iPad would be an unnecessary luxury and overkill. For those that use them, these look like awesome updates.

 

[leenak]

iPad "Air" and iPad mini now have the same exact specs save only for size. And the Mini is $100 less.

Seriously, who wouldn't go for the cheaper of the two? Besides, the pixel density will be higher on the Mini meaning it will look even better than the iPad Air.

Sorry, but now that both devices have the same specs, who would be interested in the larger iPad Air?

The mini is no where in my sights. It is a bit too small for what I want. iPad Air all the way.

 

[yegon]

No complaints here.
For those who still use the 2 or 3- the new Air-pad is a perfect upgrade in every way.
IMO- I see no reason to upgrade after this version until they start projecting holograms star wars chess style.

Agreed. This feels like the logical conclusion of the early wave of modern tablets - thin, light, excellent screen, great battery life, 64bit, highly capable processors. Dunno what could possibly entice me next time, ram & better cameras certainly wouldn't do it. Nor would Touch ID for me personally - I love it on my phone, but the nature of my iPad usage is different, using it for longer periods so switching it on/off is much less frequent than my phone.

Gotta be something scifi for my next upgrade, foldable screens or some such, I dunno. Still massive room for improvement in the productivity realm. A MacBook Air or equivalent absolutely trounces any tablet, Surface Pro included, for almost all real work. A new paradigm on how we interact with a tablet is needed before it can ever come close. Fortunately, an iPad is purely an entertainment device for me, couldn't give two hoots about its productivity shortcomings.

 

[DisplacedMic]

For the same reasons they spend money on updated computers/textbooks etc.

Every piece of technology has a lifespan. After X amount of time the hardware starts to degrade, the manufacturer stops producing/updating software for it, etc.

Let's just assume for argument that the iPad has a relevant lifespan of 5 years. That is, the original iPad 1 (2010) will end it's lifespan in 2015 (I know, I know, most would say it's already done, but just stick with me)...

Why would a school or business buy technology that was introduced in 2011 (dead in 2016) when, for a tad bit more, they could buy the latest technology and not have to re-purchase until 2018?

This logic is even far shorter than the obvious, real-world situation that my wife is in. Her employer is going to buy her an iPad air (she works at a university). They TEACH technology and NEED the latest technology to be able to teach it. Plus, who's to say that some apps won't start taking advantage of that new processor sometime in the next 5 years? Wouldn't that be awesome to "cheap out" and buy the whole school iPad 2 models and then suddenly there's an app that takes full advantage of the new processor but wait -- "we don't have those..."

It's not ALWAYS necessary to have the latest and greatest but I'd venture a guess that in an educational setting and probably most business settings it would be best.

that's pretty thin...as was calling the ipad 2 "antiquated" in your previous post. if your wife is "teaching technology" i don't see why the latest and greatest is essential unless she is teaching courses that are extremely technical and specific to the components themselves. If she is just teaching computing they don't need the absolute cutting edge by and large.

The only people that absolutely need cutting edge are people that work on cutting edge technology. There are of course going to be exceptions to that statement as certainly some people do work that is already bumping up against the upper limits of the technology that's available today but those people are niche and don't really play into the point you are driving at.

As it were Apple gives huge discounts to schools and universities for this exact reason... Apple isn't forcing you or any school to buy anything.

 

[gentleman00]

If people were willing to pay $329 for the old iPad Mini. They should be more than willing to pay $399 for the new one.

Not necessarily.

The new one is so much better than the old one. Are you people crazy? The new processor is going to destroy the old one which was a generation older than the iPad.

Relax. It's not like consumers are purchasing a Intercontinental Missel

The screen is going to be soooo much better. I don't understand ANY of these complaints. The new mini is worth twice as much as the old mini in my eyes. Its going to be so much more useful. It is the iPad Air with a slightly smaller screen.

Tim Cook, is that you?

The old mini was a crippled iPad, this one is a full fledged iPad with no tradeoffs. It is priced as such.

Then why did they mass produce it in the first place if it was crippled?

 

[Diseal3]

What sucks in the way they are priced. Not the device themselves.

 

[javisan]

What sucks in the way they are priced. Not the device themselves.

Yep, that's what I also believe.

I hope next year they drop the 16gb for the 32gb and add touch ID at the $399/$499 new prices. $349/$499 would be better but that's wishful thinking.

 

[Rogifan]

Really surprised Apple wouldn't boost the iPad Air's specs to further differentiate it from the mini aside from the screen size.

My guess is that they had to soup up the Mini's specs to the A7 chip to support the Retina screen while maintaining battery life and graphics performance. Hence the $70 price increase.

Either way, no use for an iPad when I already have a 5s and 13" rMBP. iPad would be an unnecessary luxury and overkill. For those that use them, these look like awesome updates.

Why should people be penalized just because they prefer a smaller screen? If Apple wanted to differentiate it then do something software wise to take advantage of the larger display.

 

[DisplacedMic]

Why should people be penalized just because they prefer a smaller screen? If Apple wanted to differentiate it then do something software wise to take advantage of the larger display.

Well, I think they should make the device as powerful as possible within the requirements of weight and battery life. Obviously they could make a device that's faster and more powerful, but that comes at the cost of weight and/or battery life. Presumably they look for the sweet-spot there...

This will always come down to a judgement call on their part as is the case with any manufacturer. If they could take advantage of the added size of the full iPad to make it better then I see no reason for them not to do that.

That being said I agree entirely that there's no reason to do that just to do it, so to speak, and even less reason to do it to differentiate between the iPad and the mini.

Did they hamstring the 11" MBA relative to the 13" MBA? Of course not. They did however take advantage of the larger size of the 13" to include an SD slot and a larger battery. In that case I was happy to sacrifice the extra battery life and SD slot for what I perceive to be a more valuable feature in the reduced weight and size. Not sure I can make the same choice for the mini over the iPad but others obviously will.

 

[Fission]

I'd never consider the mini...Why? I've got an iphone.

 

[darngooddesign]

iPad "Air" and iPad mini now have the same exact specs save only for size. And the Mini is $100 less.

Seriously, who wouldn't go for the cheaper of the two? Besides, the pixel density will be higher on the Mini meaning it will look even better than the iPad Air.

Sorry, but now that both devices have the same specs, who would be interested in the larger iPad Air?

If Apple had gimped the Mini 2 people would bitch that its been gimped. Now that its full spec someone bitches that there isn't enough differentiation. Just further proof that its impossible for Apple to make everyone happy.

People who don't want a tiny tablet will get the Air.

 

[PatriotInvasion]

Why should people be penalized just because they prefer a smaller screen? If Apple wanted to differentiate it then do something software wise to take advantage of the larger display.

It's just how their model works. Bigger screen = more powerful. See MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and iMac.

 

[madKIR]

Actually, I'm happy with Apple releasing the same product in 2 different sizes.
When was the last time they did it? Never! With the exception of their laptops, of course.
Now you don't have to make any compromises. You have the same specs in both. Isn't it great? I was afraid they would castrate the mini in terms of specs but now I might get one. The full size iPad is too big for me. I ended up not using it at all, maybe once a month if I watch a movie in bed, which almost never happens.

 

[saintsfan1970]

Sorry, but now that both devices have the same specs, who would be interested in the larger iPad Air?[/QUOTE]

I am getting the larger iPad Air. I wear glasses for reading and prefer to have a larger device so that I can see better.

Isn't freedom of choice one of the great things about this country??!!!

 

[Viscerol]

Hey guys. First post here.

I currently have a iPhone 5 and a 13" MacBook Air for music and intensive stuff. The IPad Mini (64 or 128 with LTE) will fit perfectly in the middle for me. No need for the Air, too close to MacBook size. I am so glad we all have so many choices nowadays.

I do wish it had the fingerprint scanner so I could use my email, apps, etc. and the wife can use hers. But it's not gonna stop me from buying one though. Not gonna wait till next version!

 

[Leonard1818]

that's pretty thin...as was calling the ipad 2 "antiquated" in your previous post. if your wife is "teaching technology" i don't see why the latest and greatest is essential unless she is teaching courses that are extremely technical and specific to the components themselves. If she is just teaching computing they don't need the absolute cutting edge by and large.

The only people that absolutely need cutting edge are people that work on cutting edge technology. There are of course going to be exceptions to that statement as certainly some people do work that is already bumping up against the upper limits of the technology that's available today but those people are niche and don't really play into the point you are driving at.

As it were Apple gives huge discounts to schools and universities for this exact reason... Apple isn't forcing you or any school to buy anything.

Quite honestly, I don't even remember what the discussion is about. I think ThisIsNotMe said something like "Why would a school or business want/need to spend money on an iPad Air?"

...I haven't heard anything from you as to why they *wouldn't* or *shouldn't* want to buy the air model... especially when the alternative is 2 year old technology with a fraction off of the price. So why do you think schools/businesses shouldn't buy the air? Maybe I just missed it and I'm too lazy to go back and read

 

[thegreatdivorce]

Is that a material difference in resolution quality? I have no expertise in this type of thing. If it is, it is enough for me to switch to an iPad Mini. Especially since it has the same features--A7, MIMO, battery life, etc. In other words, does the same resolution, with a 62ppi variance, matter one way or the other?

I doubt it. But I think it'd be worth looking at them side by side. I'm a photographer, and for me I wouldn't mind the extra density ... but I wouldn't mind the larger size and still-good density.

 

[iapplelove]

I look at it as a deal. 100 bucks more for the bigger screen hell yeah!